In Toronto Fan Expo a multi-pronged convention featuring comics, anime, horror and video games returned on August 22-24.
Present was the Mr. Comics booth with the usual assortment of awesome comic book goodies but this time it was complimented by the adjacent Hoverboy Museum.
Photo provided by Paul Sterling
To celebrate the launch of the new Hoverboy comic written by Ty Templeton and drawn by Steve Molnar a museum was erected (decorated with wood paneling!!) to showcase and celebrate the incredible historical fluidity of this outlandish superhero.
With such a rich unique history the Hoverboy Museum captures many of the mediums Hoverboy has graced. From action figures, to Saturday morning cartoon serials and cereals, to comic books to…a working Hoverboy belt? Apparently somebody at NASA was a Hoverboy fan and built a working belt, so cool!
What I like about Hoverboy is he’s been there for the past…70 years and he’s always been on the wrong side. He’s a bit like Forrest Gump but an evil version: he’s always wrong.” Green was ecstatic to interview Hoverboy supportive fans and insightful critics: many memories recorded on camera for the documentary.
Mr. Comics editor Ty Templeton and writer of the Hoverboy comic sees Hoverboy from a bigger picture. Despite owning the dubious honour of being the most sued superhero of the 20th Century Ty discounts claims Hoverboy is the worst superhero ever quoting instead from the Comic
Shop Buyers News (“the news for people who want to buy comic shops not comics”). “Hoverboy is recorded as the 73rd most popular superhero of the 20th Century…Hawkman is 72 and Niles Caulder—the original professor from the Doom Patrol—which is a good spot to be.”
Ty who’s been a fan of Hoverboy as a kid, avidly collecting the toys and comics recently won the rights to Hoverboy in a poker game. Thus prompting this new comic book about the republican superhero crammed with collateral damage. Green describes the book as “a dark version of a very dark character.”
Thanks to all who dropped by the Hoverboy Museum and shared their fondest recollections of this quirky action adventurer. I know visiting the Hoverboy Museum has inspired me to consider what kind of legacy I’m leaving behind!
Loosely assisting Paul Sterling we take down the Planet of the Apes cardboard poster. Have to say I’m disappointed with you Paul. Your favourite part of the conventions is the
costumes...did you dress up this year?
"Well not yet I’m saving up for the time we go to San Diego.
Paul what is it gonna take to get you into a costume anyways?
"Just a very good costume. He flashes me a smile. Hand me the tape Sammy?"
Passing the tape I ask: Fine costumes aside how was your convention experience? While it’s always smart to debrief I’m really trying to extend my procrastination and avoid cleaning up.
I squint. Fascinating. Would be fantastic to meet Batman.
Well I wanted to take some pics of the stars but I got busted (see pic of volunteer stopping me, well warning me not to take photos so I took a pic of him as proof. Notice the Adam West Autograph in
his hand oh and you can see Adam West in the background...sort of).
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Here are some other pics from people in costume that just happen to stopped by our booth.
Nodding Paul lifts two packed boxes and saunters off to the idling van while I go check up on Steve the Publisher see if he needs help. He doesn’t but he’s the boss so I make myself look busy assembling bookmarks
thankfully there isn’t many.
Hey Steve…how was your convention experience?
Fan-Expo was busy this year. There seemed to be thousand and thousands of fans. We sold out of our limited print run of Sensei-Fu and the Martial Arts Masters. We also almost ran out of the free bookmarks we
give away at every convention. The Fans…really love the concept of Sensei-Fu and the Martial Arts Masters.
Even with the bookmarks in my hand I ask: "Sensei-Fu?"
"Sensei-Fu is a Grand Master who is the leader of the Martial Arts Masters—all extremely skilled animals that have the combined abilities of different martial arts and the natural fighting abilities of the different
animals."
Makes sense. I scan the bookmarks I’m slowly and lazily compiling. "Steve is Sumo Hippo part of this?"
"Sumo Hippo and 4 or 5 Martial Art Masters are introduced in issue #1 along with Boss ‘Pit Bull’ and 4 or 5 of his Cronies Gang (the bad guys-they’re a rogue group of powerful bad animals with no martial art
skills). Boss ‘Pit Bull’ and his Cronies Gang are actually taking over the world and the only thing that stands in their way is Sensei-Fu and the Martial Arts Masters."
Finished packing he heaves up a heavy box and strolls towards the van. Not bad, everyone is packing up and I appear productive. Suckers. I love it when a plan comes together.
To enhance the illusion of work I hold the duct tape and wander over to Ty Templeton’s table. He’s just finishing packing up his various art supplies.
"Hey Ty how was your weekend?"
"This year the convention was HUGE! I found I never got a moment to look up from my sketches when there wasn’t a crowd."
"Do you ever get an opportunity to enjoy these conventions or are you always working?"
"It’s always work for me, I’m afraid. There’s too many Hoverboy fans to talk to, and I never got a break. Of course, my work with Howard the Duck, The Avengers, She-Hulk, The Spirit, Batman, Harvey Pekar and
Vertigo Comics, took up SOME time with the fans as well, but it seemed Hoverboy was the subject most people wanted to discuss."
Hoverboy huh? I survey the booth and see there is still packing up to do. Ugh. I turn back to Ty to ask him about Hoverboy.
The Epic Struggle of Clean Up: Part 2 (The Conclusion).
The Top 5 Totally Hard To Argue With Reasons Why You Should Visit Mr. Comics’ Booth At The Comic Book Convention In Toronto On August 24-26 (look out Letterman!):
Previews! What new comics and heroes will be joining the exhilarating Mr. Comics line up? What can you look forward too? I’d tell you but wouldn’t that ruin
the surprise? Please don’t be shy if you aspire to see the future drop by (errr, you do realize I’m talking about the future of Mr. Comics not your life—though all of us here sincerely wish you the best and do
earnestly hope you discover true love).
Giveaways! You don’t even have to sweet talk Steve the Publisher though he always appreciates a flattering compliment—the skinny handsome rascal he is! Who knows
what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Who knows what items Mr. Comics will be giving away? Pop in where we’ll answer at least one of these questions. (Actually we have insights on the evil lurking in men’s
hearts more; we’ll gladly debate contradicting ideas).
Comics! We make em, you buy em, what a team! If only the rest of this hectic Western life was so simple and truly offered us this much pleasure.
Comic Book Creators! Loafing at the booth will be…Ty Templeton, Marcus Moore. Get autographs, sketches, handshakes, ask questions, discover the best ointment for that
unsightly rash and so much more. Housetrained, happy, humorous and here…for you! There’s a reason these folks are called professionals and…as soon as I find out what that reason is I’ll be sure to share.
Because it’ll be Fun! Fun is the best reason of all, imagine if lawyers stop using legalese and simply stated: “fun.” Fun is a persuasive argument. Is it working?
There you have it: the best top most awesome spectacular 5 logical convincing reasons to stop by the booth at the end of August.
Working in comics is often a solitary endeavour so thankfully and happily part of the job is attending conventions or else we’d always be chained to our desks badly defending ourselves against relentless deadlines.
So…June 6-8th was the 5th annual Paradise Toronto Comicon at Exhibition Place. And in keeping with tradition Mr. Comics was present. Manning the booth was the usual Mr. Comics mötley crüe.
Montreal based artist Gabbin’ Gabriel Morrissette came to Toronto for the weekend. In between comic book shopping and camaraderie among old and new friends he shares this one story of heroics:
“During the JSA Awards (Joe Shuster Awards), they announced a new category—the winner of the category was a write in vote. When the presenters, one American and one Australian
began fumbling with the winner’s French names (which was not spelled phonetically) I jumped on stage and said the name properly. And since the guy was not there, I jumped back on stage to accept the Award for him.”
Awesome! We were all born to shine.
As for when Genteel Gabriel was hanging out at Mr. Comics’ booth greeting fans eager for sketches his favorite part was: “Sketching all sort of apes drawings, whatever hit my fancy. Way more fun than sketching endless
Wolverine drawings. It was APERIFFIC!!!!” Oh boy...
Planet of the Apes writer Jolly Joe O’Brien didn’t quite go with Aperiffic when describing the con: “It’s been a terrific con—I love coming to these things to meet fans. It’s a great part of the joy of working in
comics.”
And of course another part of the joy of working in comics is...making them! Perceptive Paul Sterling hard at work on Dragon Mask The Legacy was upset he didn’t attend this
year’s con…in costume.
“Well...now that you mention it I was surprised to find out that you got in free on Sunday if you wore a costume. I got to see Darth Vader with some of his stormtrooper buddies parading around. I took pictures of
Lady Death…very cool costume. I hope they continue the free costume day, I think it’s a great idea.”
Can’t wait till next year to see what costume Passionate Paul will don. Any suggestions? Send em in to Mr. Comics. And please, don’t be shy. Of course as cool as it was to see Darth Vader and Death he wasn’t
the only one rollin’ with celebrities. Check out these tale tales from Steve The Publisher:
“One of the most interesting parts of the show was when I met filmmaker Ron Mann who among other films produced Comic Book Confidential and just
finished Tales of the Rat Fink (he sent me a DVD of it—thanks Ron!). I also talked with Ed the Sock who is always a pleasure (really!) to talk with.”
Somebody get this man an agent, he’s going Hollywood. Still at this point I interrupted and wondered about the fans...all the Mr. Comics gang was enthusiastic to meet and greet the fans, even though occasionally they were
surprised at who is a “fan:”
Steve The Publisher reveals: “Death walked by the booth, and normally I would be terrified silly but Death actually seemed quite attractive in some sort of way and even turned out to be a fan of the Apes.”
My jaw dropped: “Oh the horror!” Not much else you can say when Death is a fan of your comic books. And attractive! Wow…
Course all this horror reminded Steve: “Oh and I’ve firmed up some plans with Shuster Award nominee and writer extraordinaire Jumpin’ Joe O’Brien on a new upcoming comic, so fans should watch out for a Horror Pilot issue in the
coming months from Mr. Comics. Saw some new artwork from new up and coming artists that I’m sure Mr. Comics will use in the coming months.”
“Yes. Fans asked about Hoverboy and I informed them we are really only a few pages out in completing our first 1 shot. So be sure to watch for Hoverboy. People seemed to really like
Sensi Fu and the Martial Arts Masters, which should also be out by the end of the year. Turtles watch out!”
There you have it. Another great comic con, lots of hands shaken, sketches drawn, jokes told and some of them were even laughed at. All in all a good time. Thanks to all who dropped by the booth. See you in August...?
Mr. Comics is humbled, pleased, thrilled, and tickled ( I know, I know we seem to be always to be humbled, pleased, thrilled and tickled- but hey we are and we must admit it's a good feeling being nominated) to
announce that we have been nominated for Outstanding Canadian Publisher and for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist ( Writer/Artist for the Simpsons and The Planet of the Apes ) our very own Ty Templeton again. Wow
that's a total of 3 Shuster nominations in two years- they must really, really, really like us. When you get a chance please vote for your favorites here.
I’m Here All Week! Have You Tired The Fish!!
Pssst! Did you hear the one about Superheroes, Zombies and Talking Apes? It’s true.
(Yes “it’s true” is the punchline for that rather weak joke; sorry about that, Mr. Comics has just lost its comedy writer, we’re doing what we can under these extreme circumstances).
Thankfully (and after that display understandably) we don’t get praised for our jokes but we do get praised for our comic books!
More praise for Mr. Comics’ Revolution on the Planet of the Apes series came from Scripps Howard News Service via Terry Morrow. Mr. Morrow recalls the best comic book series of 2006 and there, among all the heroes,
villains and zombies sitting at lucky number 7 is our Planet of the Apes series. Isn’t love grand?
Mr. Comics is humbled, pleased, thrilled, and tickled to announce that our first issue of Revolution on the Planet of the Apes was nominated for a Shuster Award for best written comic issue of 2005.
(forgive my luddite inability to create hypertext, but the website is www.shusterawards.com)
We have to publicly tip our hats to Joe O'Brien for the terrific script he wrote. Frankly we're not too surprised someone wanted to pin a ribbon on it. We wanted to when it first came in.
The lovely art by Salgood Sam and Bernie Mireault was our little way of pinning a ribbon on our story before anyone else got to read it. And the equally nominated back up story by Attila and that Templeton fellow seems to have been worth a
read as well.
We couldn't be prouder of the recognition that our little corner of the comic's rack is getting, and I promise, it only makes us try harder.
Speaking of trying harder, it's time to start.
We need to form a gorilla militia. A legion of Apes fans who need to go forth and pester their local retailers for the comic. Demand to know why they're keeping it from you. Bring monkeys if you have to, but no violence
unless the monkey starts it. Grass roots and word of mouth is powerful, and we're asking for that grunting cohort to come to bear. We're doing what we can to get the word out, but we are merely a handful of simians when we need an army.
2005 got off to a very good start. Let's see if we can't destroy all of man's world by the end of 2006.
Hey Mr. Comics Fans! (And Ms. Comics Fans, one hopes).
We're back up and breathing after the server overload....but just barely. Give us a second...
If you're visiting our site looking for Dan's Slott and James Fry's BIG MAX, welcome! We've got some goodies for ya coming right up, as soon as we catch our breath from the wave of Maxmania that took out our puny server.
Coming up, as soon as we pull our poor webmaster off his knees: Preview Pages. A message from Dan the Man. Links to interviews and features about our favorite gorilla in a cape
We have to mention the cape. We can't play primate favorites around here, not with Caesar and Dr. Zaius looking over our shoulders.
While you're here, looking for monkeys...take a look at our Planet of the Apes project, and peruse the pages of wonder that are Hoverboy, you'll have fun, I promise. That's the reason we're all here, my brothers and
sisters, to have buckets and buckets of fun.
This is the COMICS industry.
So, jump around. Get to know us. Retailers: Order oodles of our Mr. Comics books. We sell by the oodle. If this Big Max special is a hit with you guys, we have loads of scripts and stories ready to go, and legions of
eager, tremblings artists waiting to draw em. (Mostly living in James Fry's apartment, we consider his talent legion enough.)
Here's the Mr. Comics guarantee: If you buy Big Max, or one of our other fine comics, and DON'T enjoy it, we'll give you that time back. Not any money, but you will get the ten minutes back, somehow. We'll find a way,
perhaps if we kill a chicken and make just the right chanting noises...Our cover artist claims he's been aboard a UFO that takes you back in time. But there's all that probing...
We'll do what we can. You'll have fun. It's a time back guarantee.
Ty the Guy Templeton. Blatantly stealing the nickname from Stan the Man Lee *
*Who stole it from a baseball player whose last name is hard to spell.
Revolution went on sale yesterday, all over North America (and with luck, around the world) and now it's time for you guys to start yelling at us. Opinions, opinions, thoughts, and rants, are all welcome. Come one, come all. But here's the minor problem, the email address mentioned in the issue itself (mrcomics@gmail.com) is completely not working, and any mail sent there falls off the face of the Earth, into the cosmic ether.
So for the meanwhile, posting to our message boards, or sending mail to: tybunny@gmail.com or ty@templetons.com gets directly into my email box, and I'll answer pretty well any and all letters personally.
Can't wait to hear what you guys think of our work. It's been in our brains for months now, and we're dying to hear back.
Ty the Guy.
PS: I just saw the finished cover for #3, and the sketch for #4 today! Wow! This stuff gets better and better as it goes. If I was you guys, I couldn't wait! (Boy! Do I love exclamation points!)
The experts agree: Revolution on the Planet of the Apes is the best Apes story in years.
We sent copies of Mr. Comic's first issue out to the world's leading fans and scholars for the Planet of the Apes films, books, TV, and comics franchises, and asked for their honest opinion of what were doing. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
"Just great...
Two thumbs up for coming up with a great story idea and keeping the pace of great storytelling, action and intrigue all wrapped up in one great story to bring classic POTA in the 21st Century."
As an Apes fan, I always welcome any new Apes product with enthusiasm, tempered by nagging worry. Would the new comic respect the original classic stories? Would it be true to Apes? Would it be any good!?
I needn't have worried. Your creative team have nailed it to the wall in terms of script, art and ''feel'' for Apes. Thanks guys--Apes are back and they are in very safe paws, indeed!"
You really have captured the spirit of POTA for the fans here. But you have also provided enough background to allow "POTA virgins" to get excited about the ideas you mention without having to have seen the movies prior to reading.
Now, finally, something the fans will love is here. Something that makes you feel that you are back in the POTA Universe. The art is great and the colouring is out of this world! And did I mention the STORY?"
"I am SO impressed with what you've come up with...
...and I couldn't imagine a better continuation of the original series. And that's after having only read the first issue."
Ed Gross - Contributing Editor at Cinefantastique, Movie Magic, SFX, and author of, "The Planet of the Apes Revisited".
This is just a sampling of a much larger mailbag full of happy responses to our first issue. We've been looking for a bad review, but we can't find it. Ask your local comic shop clerk about ordering Revolution on the Planet of the Apes #1 & 2 before November the 30th.
Hey you monkeys! Spread the word, Caesar is on the move!
All the Rage, Sunday, September 25 : The Mr. Mister [Ty talks to Blair Marnell about plans for Mr
Comics' line up in 2006, and his plans for world Ape conquest]
PULSE does POTA, September 29 : TEMPLETON CREATING ON THE PLANET OF THE APES [Longish
interview by Jennifer "Damn, Dirty Apes!" Contino, with the hardest working cartoonist in a bunny suit - funny humans - Ty the guy Templton!]
September 30 :Diamond [ed:shows solidarity!] and recommends Revolution on
the Planet of the Apes #1 Revolution on
the Planet of the Apes #1
Recommended by Jim Kuhoric
I am really excited about the launch of MR Comics' new series, Revolution on the Planet of
the Apes. Everything I have seen so far - from their brilliant cover images to dazzling interior art - has screamed "this is the real deal!" No super-fancy special effects trying to cover up bad actors
pretending to be angst-ridden anti-heroes. No, this is old school, in-your-face "Chuck Heston-approved" Planet of the Apes action! I can hear the haunting soundtrack from the original film in my head looking at
these nostalgic images. The story begins in the city of San Diego in the near future, ablaze with the flames of ape rebellion. Caesar is back, and leading the way for the human-run planet to transform into a
warlike simian culture. All of the original movie characters are back in two new stories per issue, including Cornelius, Dr. Zaius, Zira, and Taylor. Classic sci-fi fans, join me in breaking out those Apes DVDs
and do your best Taylor impression with me - "get your stinking paws off me you damned dirty apes!" But be sure you get your "stinking paws" on this debut issue!
All the Rage, Sunday, October 2 : Stop The Planet of The Apes, I Want To Get Off! [Blair spotlights
art for Revolutions posted on Salgood Sam's Blog and gives a big 9 out of ten bananas!]
Comic World News, October 20 : The SEA OF RED and REVOLUTION ON THE PLANET OF THE APES Penciler
talks to Michael May [Some more pretty pictures, Salgood says nice stuff about other people & talk about how clever he is, silly human]
Silver Bullet Comicbooks Interview, October 28 : Social Commentary on a Simian World, Ty Templeton
Returns to The Planet of the Apes, and finds it still reflects our own! Ty and Thom Young discus their love of the Apes, & the history of political commentary in the Planet of the Apes franchise. [Ty for
100-pound gorilla!]
Stop reading this post right now and head on over to the free story you can download at our website, available by clicking on the "FREE STORY" link on the front page.
And when you're done, we WANT to hear from you, especially the apes fans of the world. Let us know your thoughts by posting on the forum, or posting here, or heck, by emailing your eager editor at
tybunny@gmail.com and letting him know what we're doing right and wrong.
And we've got some terrific goodies coming up in the next week or so, just you wait until we finish dotting the T's and crossing the I's, and link you to the vast and bizarre HOVERBOY homepage, a feast for the
fan you will not BELIEVE, created by the magical mind of Marcus Moore.
We have to thank the fine folks at Diamond for the nice recommend, and the all the help they've been given us for the last little while. People are so kind to the talking monkeys.
Speaking of talking monkeys. It's time to let them have their say. Starting next week, you'll be able to read a complete, all new Planet of the Apes story for FREE on our website. Did he say free? I think he
did.
That's right. We're not going to be on sale for a couple of months, and we're so impatient to get this stuff out there that we've decided to give you our first story all for the price of a few electromagnetic
pulses.
Give us a couple of days to figure out what all these funny blinking buttons do on our computeratrons, and we'll have it ready for you before you can shout "Ape must not kill ape!".
Hello there, web-surfing simians and welcome to Mr. Comics homepage.
Our first big project here at Mr. Comics central is REVOLUTION
on the PLANET OF THE APES, an ALL NEW comic series, returning Caesar, Cornelius, Zaius
and Taylor from the classic 20th Century Fox films, back to the world of comics, where they have been too long absent.
The Revolution begins on Dec 7th, 2005. At finer human comic stores everywhere.
Click around. Take a look at a few pages of art from our new series (by Salgood Sam, Tom Fowler, Gabriel Morrissette, Bernie Mireault and others) and see if it gives you something to smile or
complain about while we get the forums up and running so you can smile and complain there.
In the meantime, we're also offering a few teasing glimpses of our other projects, on their way early in the new year:
The RETURN of HOVERBOY by Marcus
Moore, and a host of artists ( too impressive to contain JUST to the printed page-).
Years in the making, The Return of Hoverboy is a comic, it's a movie, it's a dvd, it's a ringtone, it's a dessert
topping AND a floor wax and he's returning for the very first time, to the medium he was born to rule. Believe me, you guys can't wait.
Shortly before Dangerous Dan Slott was cruelly snatched away from us smaller publishers into the jaws of Mighty Marvel Exclusive Contracts, we got this wonderful comic out of him , and now you get it too.
It's the classic tale of a super-powered gorilla and his trembling monkey sidekick as they fight crime and strut like playahs. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be picking nits out of your partner's hair.
And I promise, the gorilla thing is a co-incidence. It happened by accident. Why does no one believe me?
Ty the Guy Templeton
PS: Here's some web banners to help spread the good word, right click to save them and post them on your site or wherever you use such things!
Long Live Caesar!!
